My Life for His
by starinshadows
Summary: Post Avengers. Tony's daughter would do anything to save him, even give herself to Loki. Loki/OC, Clint/OC, Tony/Bruce, Language, mature themes and eventual smut.
1. The Prodigal Daughter Returns

**A/N: This is my first fanfic so please be gentle. I don't have a beta yet so if you're interested please PM me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything; however, I did borrow the name Stark for my OC Chris.**

**Chapter One: The Prodigal Daughter Returns**

Chris fumbled with her keycard and dropped it on the ground. Cursing under her breath, she bent over to retrieve it only to have her bag slip off her shoulder and spill its contents. Brushing her long sable hair out of her face with a frustrated sigh, she gathered her belongings back into her bag and gave up pretending to be something that she wasn't.

"Jarvis," she whispered.

"Yes, Miss Stark?" Her relief was palpable when the AI responded in a whisper.

"I appear to be too jetlagged to function like a human being. Please unlock the door and do not tell Daddy I'm here. I don't think that my usual surprise is going to be much fun tonight. I just want to go to bed.

"Of course, Madam."

With a click, the door unlocked and Chris let herself into the penthouse. She didn't bother with the light and tiptoed across the living room heading for her bedroom. Suddenly, she found herself flat on her back with a knife to her throat.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" a low voice hissed in her ear. The knife dug into the flesh of her neck. Tears filled her brown eyes as the knife pricked her skin.

"Jarvis?" Chris whimpered. The lights came on stinging her eyes.

"I have alerted your father." Jarvis started to say but before he could complete his sentence, Tony strode into the room. He took in the situation and walked over to the bar.

"How about you get off my daughter, Legolas, so she can come over here and give me a hug?" he asked as he poured two shots of whiskey taking one for himself and placing one on the bar.

Clint looked at the woman finally taking in her features and recognized her as the mystery woman that appeared in almost all of the pictures scattered around the penthouse. He stood up with a sigh, looked down at her apologetically, and offered her his hand. She just stared at him. Tony sighed.

"Clint this is Antonia Christine Stark, my daughter. Chris this is Clint," Tony said dismissively. Chris reluctantly took his hand and he helped her to her feet.

"It's Agent Clint Barton, actually. I work for SHIELD with your dad." She pulled back with a nod and walked over to her father. He enveloped her in a hug and whispered something in her ear. Clint looked on in surprise as she stepped back and laughed. That was when Tony noticed the line of blood on her neck. He grabbed a towel from the counter, pressed it to her neck, and glared at Clint.

"Jesus Barton! Did you have to get so fucking overzealous?"

Clint flinched. "She was an intruder. If you hadn't kept the fact that you have a fucking daughter, who of course, has access to your penthouse, I wouldn't have taken her down." Chris took the towel from Tony and pulled it away from her neck. A thin line of blood about two inches long had soaked into its fibers. Once the danger had passed, she had been smiling and somewhat amused by the situation but she wasn't smiling anymore. She turned to Clint.

"My face is on every wall in this room and I had a suitcase for fuck's sake! Obviously, I belonged here!" Clint had the decency to look chagrined.

Tony picked up the full shot glass and offered it to her. She took it gratefully and knocked it back like a pro. Like father, like daughter. Tony smiled and poured himself another shot. Clint narrowed his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a daughter? Shit we had bets going as to who this girl was. We've asked everyone including Jarvis but none would say a word." A look of pain crossed Clint's face. "Shit! I just lost fifty bucks!"

Tony snorted, "Natasha didn't tell you? Shame on her for not telling you before you bet that she was a past mistress. You should have known better. Everybody knows that Pepper's the only girlfriend that I would ever keep pictures of after we split up." Hearty laughter erupted from Chris.

"Wait, Tasha knew?" Clint interjected but Tony gave him a look that implied that Clint was not living up to his super spy reputation before promptly ignoring him.

"Daddy, Pepper is the only real girlfriend that you've ever had and that lasted what, a year?" she asked before downing another shot.

"That's not true, baby. You know that I loved your mother." Chris gave an unladylike snort and poured herself another.

"What? I did!" Tony said in mock outrage. He ruffled her hair and took the bottle from her. He poured himself another shot before putting the bottle back under the bar. She watched him and shook her head then patted him on the back.

"Love usually lasts longer than a month, Daddy. Or so I've heard." She walked over and picked up her things where they had fallen. Tony chuckled as Clint rushed over to help.

"Let me get this for you," Clint said grabbing the handle of her suitcase. She started to say no but thought better of it when the whiskey joined her jetlag and made keeping her eyes open intolerable. She walked over to the door of what the Avengers had dubbed 'the mystery room'. As she approached, it unlocked with a click and she pulled it open. The lights came on as she entered.

"Thanks, Jarvis," she said and gestured for Clint to set her bag at the foot of her bed. He set it down without comment.

"You're welcome, Miss Stark. Should I wake you at seven?" Chris looked at the clock on her nightstand and read 2:09 AM. She cringed.

"Better make it eight or I'll be the biggest bitch this penthouse has ever seen."

"Very good, Miss Stark. Pleasant dreams."

She looked at Clint and raised an eyebrow. He had walked over to her dresser and was running a finger along the top of it. He looked up at her.

"It's clean," he said surprised. She nodded, not sure where he was going with this line of questioning.

"This room has been locked for the past six months. Why is there no dust?" Chris grinned and picked up her suitcase. She put it on the bed and unzipped it before throwing the lid back.

"Jarvis keeps it clean for me," she said. "I never warn Daddy before I come home. I like to surprise him, but Jarvis always knows." She pulled out a sheer nightgown of blue silk and laid it on the bed then continued to unpack. Clint's throat dried out as he watched her walk a handful of lace panties with matching bras over to her dresser. He'd noticed her soft curves when she'd been beneath him on the floor but considering the circumstances hadn't really thought about them. She moved to pull more clothes from her suitcase but Clint barely noticed. Fleeting images of what must be under her clothes right now dominated his thoughts. He gave himself a mental shake and cleared his throat to chase them away.

"Isn't that kind of dangerous considering his lifestyle?" She laughed at this and moved her now empty suitcase to the closet.

"That's exactly why I like to do it. It throws him off his game. The fact that he has pictures of me everywhere adds to the fun. I usually play the outraged lover," she smirked and shook her head, "Those poor women." She picked up her nightgown. "You would think that I wouldn't be so much of a secret," she added as she went into the bathroom.

"Well your dad certainly kept it from us," Clint projected.

"He was just having fun with you," She said and stepped back into her room. Her nightgown hugged the curve of her breasts and draped over her generous curves gracefully leaving a lot to the imagination but its sheerness teased Clint and assisted him with deciding what to imagine. "Honestly, he's never hidden me. I'm listed as his heir and my birth is a matter of public record, but I've always done my best to stay out of the public eye. I'm not like, Daddy." She walked over to her bed and turned down the sheets. She looked back him and said, "It was really nice meeting you, Clint. Do you think you could get the door on your way out?"

Clint wrenched his eyes away from her well-rounded ass and tossed her a rakish grin before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. He made his way to the bar thinking that he would join Tony for a drink but he was already gone. He shrugged and headed off to bed.


	2. A Hint of Green

**A/N: This is my first fanfic so please be gentle. I don't have a beta yet so if you're interested please PM me.**

**I just want to say a big thank you to AkatsukiAgent9 for my first review. It made my day.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything; however, I did borrow the name Stark for my OC Chris.**

**Chapter Two: A Hint of Green**

The chains that bound Loki to the wall of his cell grated against the metal frame of what posed as his bed as he turned on his side to stare at the sheer metal wall opposite him. Holes no larger than the width of his middle finger lined the top of the wall at his head letting in sunlight, though not much. This cell had been his home for six months. At least he thought it was six months. In truth, he'd lost count of the days ages ago. With nothing to occupy his mind, the time he spent in his cell had done little to dampen the horror of the atrocities that he'd committed under Thanos' control. He'd tried to kill Thor, the one person in all the realms who had always stood by him.

_Regardless of your willingness, your actions cannot go unpunished. You shall live out the lives of each mortal that lost their lives to your treachery in the castle dungeon. _

His father's voice replayed in his head like a mantra crushing the tiny speck of hope that he held in his heart that he would ever accept him for more than just a pawn in his political machinations.

Loki swung his legs off the bed and sat on its edge. His chains clanked against the floor and he cringed. How he hated the chains but no more than he hated the silver manacles enclosing his wrists and robbing him of his magic. He lamented the loss of his magic if for no other reason than the ability to wash himself. He brushed back a stray lock of greasy hair that had fallen forward onto his face. Oh, what he wouldn't give for a bucket of water and a cake of soap. The scraggly mass of hair that covered his jaw and lips was no picnic either. He scratched at it absently. Perhaps he could convince Thor to bring him a washtub when he visited him next. He should be due any day. It had been quite some time since his last visit, a lot longer than usual in fact.

_He's abandoned you. He never loved you. You're nothing but a monster._

A shiver passed through him as Thanos' words echoed in his mind. Loki buried his face in his hands. _Please don't be right._

* * *

A very groggy Chris lounged across the length of the sofa facing her father's room. She had opted for a plain black tank top and red sweatpants. She was too damn tired today to bother with making a fashion statement. She was quietly reading on her tablet and sipping coffee when Tony's bedroom door opened. Expecting her father, she was taken aback to see a dark haired man, who was decidedly NOT her father, exit and ease the door closed before turning around. He stopped short when he saw her.

"Uh, hi," he said. She looked at him for a moment. He was older and quite good-looking. Apparently, her father had good taste in men as well as women. Chris realized that she was gawking and shook herself out of it.

"Hi," she replied. "I can honestly say this is a first for me. Usually it's Daddy sneaking out of his room at this time of morning and you are definitely not the usual bimbo that he leaves behind." A look of confusion creased his brow.

"Daddy?"

She put the tablet and her mug on the coffee table beside her and stood up.

"I'm sorry. Let me introduce myself." She crossed the room and extended her hand. "My name is Chris Stark and you are?" His eyes widened.

"Dr. Bruce Banner." Her face lit up.

"Dr. Banner! Daddy has told me so much about you. Of course, I thought that his interest in you was purely professional. Meeting you like this has caught me by surprise." The sound of Tony's door opening caught their attention and they both turned as Tony stepped into the room.

"Ah baby, I see you've met my pride and joy." He walked over and kissed Bruce on the cheek before pulling his daughter in for a hug. "Did you sleep ok? Legolas didn't give you any nightmares did he?" Chris laughed.

"Nope. No nightmares. Why do you call him that?"

"He's an archer. He's actually fantastic just don't tell him I said so," he replied with a smirk. Chris looked at Bruce.

"So how long have you two been together?"

"A couple of months," Bruce answered his voice strained, "plenty of time for your father to have mentioned having a grown daughter, but apparently he felt that I didn't need to know. If you'll excuse me." Bruce turned on his heel, strode across the living room and out the door ignoring Tony's pleas for him to stop.

"Daddy, did he look a little green to you?"

"Shit! Jarvis, where is Bruce now?"

"Dr. Banner is heading toward containment. He appears to be holding off his transformation." Tony sighed with relief.

"Well I guess I better let him cool off before I go talk to him." Chris looked at him with a look of utter confusion.

"Obviously, you should have told your boyfriend about your daughter, Daddy. What I don't understand is why he locked himself in containment and what transformation?" she barely got the words out when realization dawned. Tony could almost see the light bulb above her head. He suppressed a chuckle.

"Oh my God! You're fucking the HULK?"

"No I'm fucking Bruce Banner who just happens to turn into the Hulk when he gets pissed off. Don't say anything to him about it though. It's a sensitive subject." Chris was taken aback. She searched his eyes and she smirked.

"You're in love with him."

"I am not," Tony scoffed. Chris giggled.

"Whatever, Daddy. The 4th floor lab is still mine, right?" she walked back over to the coffee table and picked up her tablet and mug.

"Yeah," Tony said while walking into the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and took out a box of Cocoa Puffs. "You might want to get in there start using it though," he said as he dug out a handful and stuffed it in his mouth. "Fury's been trying to get me to hand it over to Shield for over a month now."

Chris finished the coffee in her mug and put it in the sink. She watched Tony for a moment before reaching around him to grab a bowl out of the cupboard. She took the box out of his hands and poured it into the bowl before she put the box away.

"I'll head down there now," she said as she reached into the fridge for some milk then poured it over the cereal. "Some equipment should have been delivered for me this morning. I need to get it set up." She took a spoon from the drawer, set it in the cereal, and then wrestled it into his hands. He glared at her before shoveling a spoonful into his mouth.

"You know that I hate being handed stuff," he complained around his mouthful of breakfast. She rolled her eyes.

"Then don't eat like a pig. Which reminds me," she said and walked over to Tony. "Who has been handling your healthcare?" Another spoonful disappeared into his mouth.

"Bruce and Jarvis. Why?"

"I want access to your medical records and I want to run some tests. If the only thing keeping you alive is a magnet, then I want to be sure that it's doing its job."

"I'm standing here not dying aren't I?"

"Of course, Daddy. I just want to be sure you stay that way. She leaned into him, looked up at him with a pout, and batted her eyelashes. "Come on. Let me use the education you paid for, please Daddy?" Like every father on the planet that ever gave a damn about his daughter, he caved.

"Fine, Jarvis give Chris full access to my file." Chris grinned.

"Including the schematics for his Iron Man suits and any data that you've collected while the suits are in use," she interjected. Tony raised a brow.

"Why?" Chris gently tapped the reactor.

"They attach to the reactor to draw power, yes?" Tony nods.

"How do we know that the rough treatment your suits get subjected to doesn't cause adverse effects to the reactor and your physiology? I have a theory, which I hope to prove wrong." Tony narrowed his eyes.

"What theory?"

"I don't want to go into too much detail just yet. It's a bit premature to worry about it but the reactor powers the magnet that holds the shrapnel in place and out of your heart. Jarvis, what happens to the magnetic force affecting an object when the magnet moves away from said object?"

Tony winced.

"The force weakens, Miss Stark." She holds his gaze and shrugs.

"Exactly."


	3. Ignorance Is Bliss

**A/N: This is my first fanfic, and I'm really looking to improve my writing, so please R&R. I'd like to give a special thanks to all who have favorited and/or followed this little story of mine. It's a little rough because I have no beta, so if you're interested, please PM me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything; however, I did borrow the name Stark for my OC, Chris.**

**Chapter Three: Ignorance Is Bliss**

Tony made for the bar with Chris at his heels. "You know sweetheart, you're not the only genius in the family. I did think about the dangers of attaching the suit directly to my chest. That's why the suits now have their own reactors." He reached under the bar for a glass and a bottle of whiskey. Chris snatched his glass off the counter before he could fill it and put it back under the bar.

"This is not worth drinking over. It's pure conjecture at this point. I'll take a look at your file and we'll run some scans," she said as she took the bottle from his hands and put it away. Tony glared at her.

"Since when are you the parent?" he complained.

"Since I became your doctor," she quipped while heading for the door. "I'll be in my lab if you need me.

Chris spent the better part of the morning running the moving crew ragged trying to get her equipment set up and arranged to her liking. Once satisfied she sat at her desk, booted her computer systems, and brought Jarvis online.

"Good afternoon, Miss Stark."

"Hey Jarvis, set the security of this room to only permit me and dad by voice recognition and announce any visitors, including daddy. You know how I hate being startled when I'm working."

"Of course, Miss Stark. Security protocols in place."

Chris turned to the monitors on the desk in front of her.

"Pull up dad's medical records, and display the most recent chest scans," she said and frowned when they appeared. The legacy of Stark Industries lay embedded in her father's chest in the form of three barb-tipped pieces of shrapnel. _What was daddy thinking when he designed this?_ She slid her fingers across her screen and out toward the empty air to her side expecting the data to follow suit. When it didn't, she frowned.

"What happened to the interactive interface emitter arrays that were in here?"

"Mr. Stark appropriated them when he expanded his workshop to include suit production." She growled in frustration. "Well have them replaced, and magnify the images on my screen by fifty percent."

"Yes, Miss Stark." The image enlarged and she could make out numerous clusters of scar tissue behind each piece of shrapnel. They could only have been caused by the barbs being pulled back toward the magnet in the reactor.

"How many times has the magnet weakened significantly or lost power completely?"

"Thirty-one." Her brow furrowed.

"Average time offline?"

"22.36 seconds."

"Damn it! Pull up a side-by-side comparison of his first chest scan with his most recent." The images displayed immediately. Perhaps she'd been wrong. The shrapnel had started out a lot closer to his heart than she had originally thought. Maybe they hadn't moved as much as she'd feared. She rested her elbows on her knees and rubbed her face then rested her chin in her hands.

"Okay we're going to make a movie. Pull up every chest scan between the first and the last in chronological order, aligned them as closely as you can and then display them sequentially." As the images flitted across her screen, pain and fear filled her eyes.

"Was the final scan made before or after the reactor was upgraded to the new element?"

"Before, Miss Stark." She took a cleansing breath and steeled her shoulders.

"Well then, we'd better get him down here. Tell him I'm dying or something," she said with a chuckle that sounded almost hysterical. It was either laugh or cry. Where was the Stark stoicism when she needed it?

* * *

Tony stood outside the door of containment agonizing over what to say. It had been a harmless prank that began long before he and Bruce had started their relationship. So long ago, in fact, that none of the Avengers had talked about it in months. Bruce had never participated and never asked him about her. Frankly, Tony had forgotten about it. She had spent the last year in some remote little village in Bangladesh for Doctors Without Borders. Between the time difference and her heavy patient load, he'd only managed to speak with her once a week if he was lucky. In the couple of months that they had been together, he hadn't been able to get a hold of her at all. If it hadn't been for Jarvis' link to her cell phone and laptop, he would have been worried, so it wasn't as if he had willfully hid her from Bruce. It had just worked out that way.

_Don't kid yourself, Stark. It's a bullshit excuse and you know it._

Tony sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked behind him as though afraid that someone had noticed the slip in his veneer of self-confidence. What kind of father doesn't talk about their daughter? Of course, Chris knew him better than he knew himself, so he had no doubt that she understood it as the joke it was and didn't take it personally, but he'd seen the flash of hurt in her eyes when she realized that he hadn't told his boyfriend about her. He'd hurt her just as he'd hurt Bruce, and worse, she would never admit it.

_One thing at a time._

Tony braced himself and pressed the com button.

"Bruce? Can we talk?"

The two-foot thick reinforced steel door unlocked and slid open. Bruce sat on the floor with eyes closed, spine straight and shoulders back unmoving accept for the subtle rise and fall of his chest and stomach as he breathed. Tony watched him for a moment struck by the beauty of the man before him. He had no idea how or when it had happened but he would give anything for this man. He had to fix this because the thought of losing him was more than he could take. He hesitated a moment before sitting on the floor in front of him. Bruce remained as he was, if he knew that Tony was there, he didn't show it. Tony took a bracing breath.

"I met Claire when I was fifteen. She was considerably older, and a fellow student at MIT. She was brilliant and beautiful and I was a typical teenage boy. I mean what teenage boy doesn't want to lose his virginity to an older woman?" He chuckled nervously but stopped when Bruce didn't join him. "Anyway," he continued, "she was my first and, just my luck; I got her pregnant within the first week we were together. By the time we found out, we had already broken up. It was awkward for both of us. Considering the age difference, she couldn't tell anyone who the father was, and she wanted to have an abortion. I "talked" her out of it in the sense that I paid her a half a million dollars to have Chris and let me raise her. My parents weren't thrilled, of course, but she was their grandchild, so they welcomed her. They died not long after I brought her home." Tony paused and searched Bruce's face for some sign of a response but found none.

"Chris has surpassed both me and her mother in brilliance. She's twenty-three and already an MD specializing in neurology and cardiology, as well as a physicist and she's been working in Bangladesh with Doctors Without Borders for the last year. You've never seen me talking to her because we've been out of contact for several months." Bruce's eyes opened at that.

"You expect me to believe that? You obviously love her, if you were out of contact with her you would have been worried sick, and probably disappeared in your suit to find her," he scoffed. Tony nodded.

"Of course I would have, but Chris is linked to Jarvis. He would have told me if she was in trouble." Desperate, Tony leaned forward, took Bruce's hands in his, and held his gaze. "I never meant to keep her from you. She's never been the attention whore that I am and I promised her as a child that I would do my best to keep her out of the public eye. In keeping with that promise, I've become accustomed to leaving her out of most conversations. When the guys asked who she was when they saw her pictures, it seemed like a fun prank to keep them guessing, and Tasha was the only one who ever guessed correctly. I never heard anything more about it and I guess that I assumed that she told everyone. You never mentioned it, which should have been a clue, but when have I ever been perceptive when it comes to reading people?" Bruce frowned, and Tony dropped his gaze. _Enough excuses, you idiot, apologize!_

"I'm so sorry, baby. I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me?" He kept his head down afraid to see the rejection that he feared most.

Bruce release his hand and traced Tony's jaw line. He cupped his chin and lifted Tony's face to meet his gaze. He searched Tony's soulful brown eyes for the truth. The pain and fear in them told him everything that he needed to know, and he felt his anger melt away. He leaned forwarded and whispered against his lips.

"No more secrets." Tony's breath hitched as Bruce's breath mingled with his own.

"No more secrets," he agreed. Bruce pressed his lips to Tony's in a searing kiss full of promise and pulled him onto his lap. Tony threaded his fingers through Bruce's thick hair and pressed himself against him. They both groaned in protest when Jarvis' voice cut through the fog of their arousal.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir but Miss Stark urgently requires your presence in her lab. She said to tell you that she is dying."

It was Tony's turn to frown. Chris had the patience of a saint. She would never say something like that unless it was true, or it was indeed urgent and she was trying to get his ass in gear. He stood with a sigh.

"Unfortunately, she wouldn't say that if it could wait. I have to go." Bruce nodded and gave him a quick kiss before slapping his ass. Tony yelped in surprise.

"Well I guess you better get off your ass then," he said with a laugh. Tony extricated himself and made for the door making a show of rubbing his ass.

"It may be prudent for Dr. Banner to accompany you, Sir, as he has knowledge of you medical history and can offer his assistance." Jarvis said.

Remembering his conversation with Chris this morning, a spark of fear flashed through Tony, and he turned to Bruce.

"Are you coming," he asked with a half-hearted smile.

Bruce stood and walked to Tony's side, concerned by the look in his eye. He took Tony's hand and opened the door.

Chris slapped on a canned smile as she greeted them. She may have fooled Bruce who didn't know her, but Tony knew immediately that something was very wrong.

"What is this about," he asked.

"I need to run a chest scan. There hasn't been one done since you upgraded your reactor to include the new element. I need to see how the shrapnel reacted to the change," she replied her voice a mask of professionalism. Tony eyed her for a moment before hopping up onto the table. He laid back, and Chris made quick work of the scan.

"Jarvis, add this scan to the animation and run it."

A scant few seconds later the animation displayed and the three of them huddled around the screen. When it had run its course, none of them could speak. Tony was the first to find his voice.

"Jarvis, how long until the reactor becomes ineffective?"

"Five months, two weeks, and three days, Sir."


	4. A Daughter's Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything; however, I did borrow the name Stark for my OC, Chris.**

* * *

**Chapter Four: A Daughter's Love  
**

The silence was deafening, but they were too mired in their own thoughts to acknowledge each other. Chris looked as though she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar (not that Tony had ever denied her cookies). Frankly, she was tired of being right all the time. Bruce looked as though someone had kicked his puppy, and his eyes harbored a green tinge that flickered like a malfunctioning street light as he struggled to maintain control. Tony's never been one to do anything in half measures, and he was pissed. He swung his leg over the side of the table and hopped down before striding over to the offending computer monitor. With a growl of rage that would have impressed the Hulk and left Fury speechless, he hurled the monitor into the glass wall near the door. It careened through the wall and landed with the grating crash of shattering glass whose shards now littered the floor.

Bruce and Chris gaped at Tony while his unseeing eyes fixated on the mess he made. After a moment a mask of resolved steeled his features.

"Jarvis, have this cleaned up as soon as possible."

"Of course, Sir."

Tony turned to his daughter and his lover, the two most important people in his now considerably shorter life.

"I'm going upstairs for a drink," he said and walked through the wall. His inner child took a perverse pleasure in that fact. He stopped in the hallway and looked back at them. "You coming," He asked though he didn't wait for an answer. He didn't need one as they followed close behind.

They rode the elevator in silence. Their scientific minds too bent on solving the puzzle to do anything but think. Once in the penthouse Tony made a beeline for the bar and had his first shot swallowed before the other reached him.

"Okay so how are we going to fix me? We can just remove the shrapnel now, right? Surely we have the technology by now," he said and took another shot.

Chris and Bruce looked at each other silently for a moment though their eyes gave away their silent argument as each willed the other to speak. Chris sighed in defeat and reached for the bottle. It appeared that she had been elected. Not bothering to grab a glass, she took a long pull then set it down with a cough. Tony looked on with astonishment.

"I don't like the looks at that," he said as he handed her a glass. She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand then poured herself a shot. She couldn't look him in the eye.

"We do have the technology. We had it when you got back from Afghanistan. I never mentioned it because by the time you got here it was too late," she said apologetically. Tony grimaced and then took his fourth shot. She knew that, if he didn't slow down, he'd be too shitfaced to process what she was saying. She downed her own shot, and then set the bottle out of reach.

"What do you mean it was too late," Tony asked as he reached beyond Chris and took control of the bottle once more. The anger in Tony's voice made Chris feel like a little girl again. Tony hadn't scolded her often, he hadn't needed to, but when he did, it had crushed her.

Seeing her hesitation, Bruce interjected, "The rhythmic pulses from the reactor have stimulated your heart like a pacemaker." Tony offered him a drink but he refused. The Other Guy was still too close to the surface to risk losing control. Tony shrugged and drained it himself.

"The pacemaker effect has made your brain lazy. It's no longer sending signals to the heart muscle and your heart has become dependent on your reactor as a result. It will cease to beat if we remove the reactor to reach the shrapnel," Chris continued, "but we can't reach the shrapnel without removing the reactor."

"Theoretically, we could install a pacemaker but it would have to happen simultaneously with removing the reactor in a coordinated effort. It would be extremely difficult if not impossible to execute before brain death occurred," Bruce explained. Tony's complexion paled with each new bit of information and the alcohol was making it increasingly difficult stifle his grief and anger as the impossibility of the situation truly began to sink in. They sat in awkward silence for a moment.

"Can my brain be retrained," Tony asked as he ran a nervous hand through his hair. Chris wished it were that easy.

"It's never been done. Honestly, there's never been a need. Once we learned that the brain could forget simple motor functions from lack of use, we figured out how to counteract it in heart patients by simply leaving the heart in place while maintaining blood pressure with a Ventricular Assistance Device." Hope flared in Tony's eyes causing an avalanche of guilt to cascade over Chris. She'd just inadvertently given him that one thing most dying patients grasp for, false hope.

"Before you ask, no it's not a viable option. It's huge, ungainly and involves four one-inch-thick tubes embedded in your abdomen; it destroys muscle tissue and leaves massive scarring. It's only used as a last resort when a patient is awaiting a transplant," Chris said. She hated watching the hope that had appeared in Tony's eyes die. Her own eyes welled with unshed tears.

"The reality of it, Daddy, is that the reactor is your only hope of survival and not just because your heart is dependent on the energy pulses. A lot of imperative bone and tissue was removed to install it; bone that was there to protect your heart from injury. It would have to be replaced or a hit from a small child could be fatal." Tony laid his head on the counter in defeat. Bruce moved around the counter and pulled him into his arms. Tony turned to him, and buried his face in Bruce's stomach breathing in his scent and trying desperately to fight back the tears. Bruce leaned down and kissed his hair.

"This isn't finished, Tony. We'll find the answer. I refuse to let you go," he said against Tony's hair.

Chris watched her father's stoic resolve melt against his lover and a helpless rage filled her. She picked up her shot glass and threw it against the wall with a guttural scream before stalking to her room no longer able to fight the tears that streaked down her face.

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Loki jerked awake at the sound of his cell door slamming open. Two guards hauled in a large wooden tub, and they placed it in the corner of the room, far beyond the reach of his chains. Without a glance at the fallen god, they hurried out. Loki stared intently through greasy and matted hair at the glorious yet torturous sight before him. Oh how he despised being unclean. A number of guards streamed in and out of the room each hauling a large bucket of water. Was this some new act of cruelty, or were they actually going to allow him to bathe? His fists clenched at the prospect of such a thing. The few baths he'd been allowed in the past had all been at the behest and under the supervision of Thor, but today he was absent. His eyes narrowed in thought.

When the last bucket was emptied into the tub and a few set aside for rinsing, the guards left the room. Only two of them remained just outside and on either side of the door. Steam wafted up from the water, and his skin began to burn with the need to clean himself. Without thought, he tested his bonds. The bite of the manacles, as they dug into his wrists, brought him back to himself as a young man, clearly a servant, entered and bowed before him.

"Prince Loki, the Allfather has requested that you be made presentable and escorted to the throne room. With your permission, I will assist you with your bath and, if it is your wish, a shave and a haircut. I've also taken the liberty of bringing a change of clothes. Does this please you, Highness?" During his monologue, the servant's eyes remained fixated on the floor as was expected of a servant addressing a superior. If he noticed Loki's flinch at being informed that he must go before Odin, he kept it to himself.

Loki considered the man before him. He was young, having seen no more than a century or two. He had dark hair and eyes and was reasonably attractive though slight of frame. The young man looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen him before. He gave a mental shrug. With so many servants in the palace, he couldn't be expected to remember them all. He dismissed it without further thought.

"A shave would be most welcome as would a bath," he replied and held out his wrists. "These will hamper our progress, however. Loki was surprised at the lack of hesitation before the man nodded.

"Of course, Highness," he said and turned to the waiting guards. "Have the rest of my things brought in and change his manacles, please. We mustn't keep the Allfather waiting."

Loki watched the guards approach him with a set of manacles that were chained together. His surprise faded when he saw the runes they bore. He was still to be denied his magic. The bath called to him like a siren's song that consumed him. It swallowed any errant thoughts of escape, which might otherwise have flitted across his mind. The servant undressed him, and he was sinking into the bath before he realized the opportunity that had just eluded him. A look of horror claimed his visage. Seeing this, the servant gently pushed him back against the tub.

"You must take pleasure in the little things, Your Highness, or else how will you make it through your confinement?"

Overwhelmed with the desire to do just that, Loki relaxed and pure ecstasy washed over him as the heat soaked into his sore muscles. He was only allowed a moment, however, before he was pushed forward so the man could scrub his back. Loki became aware of something amiss as deceptively strong hands skimmed over his shoulders and chest then traced their way over his stomach to disappear beneath the water. They came to rest on his inner thighs and he pulled away from the intimate touch as he felt hot breathe tickle his neck. He hesitated when he heard the servant's whisper.

"Your daughter sends her love." The man moved his hands back and forth along his inner thighs causing the water to lap against the tub intimating a much different sort of activity. "Pretend to enjoy my touch, Highness, or your guards will grow suspicious, but do not fear for I will not touch you in truth."

Loki relaxed against the younger man and whispered his reply. "What news of Hel?"

"She has arranged your audience with the Allfather. She intends to plead on your behalf. I must not tell you more; your reaction must be genuine."

Loki nodded and pantomimed a convincing conclusion to their little facade before he was once more lost in thought. He hadn't had the pleasure of seeing his daughter in centuries and yet she was to plead his case. A tiny pit of fear seeded his stomach. Hel was scheming and a scheming death god is a dangerous one.

Before he realized it, his bath was complete, his hair cut to his shoulders and his beard removed. He felt more like himself again and was almost in a pleasant mood as the man helped him to dress. He was surprised to be allowed the dignity of his own armor albeit it a somewhat lesser version. After a final adjustment to his spaulder, the man pulled him into a searing kiss. Taken off guard, anger welled within Loki until he felt something hard and metallic press against his lips. His anger dissipated, and he opened his mouth to accept the gift. The man swept it into his mouth with his tongue, bringing with it a startlingly pleasant taste of cinnamon. Loki quickly discerned the nature of the gift he was given and his gratitude kept him from biting the tongue that explored his mouth far longer than was necessary. Instead, he pulled away gently and tucked his prize behind his back teeth while he acted the besotted fool for his guards' benefit. Loki was nothing, if not a convincing liar.

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A/N

I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. I started my junior year of college and it's kicking my ass. I've learned a valuable lesson in that taking seventeen quarter credits is difficult, especially when three of your courses are literature courses. While I love learning Shakespeare and Chaucer, I hate not having any sort of life outside of school. With hope, I'll be able post the next chapter a little faster than I posted this one.

I can't believe how many people are following this story. This is my first fanfic, and I'm really looking to improve my writing, so please R&R. I'd like to give a special thanks to all who have favorited and/or followed this little story of mine. It's a little rough because I have no beta, so if you're interested, please PM me.


	5. A Father's Honor

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything; however, I did borrow the name Stark for my OC, Chris.**

**I'm able to write again. FINALLY! I must apologize; however, it's rather short. Typing is still difficult (I had surgery to repair a broken wrist in December), so I'll probably have to post short chapters until I get my endurance back.**

**In this chapter, we meet Hel and I feel that I should warn you that I despise Marvel's version of the goddess. My Hel only resembles her slightly. The majority of her personality and moral compass is a bastardized version of the real Hel of Norse Mythology. Of course if Marvel followed Norse Mythology, their storyline would be all sorts of fucked up considering Thor was not Odin's firstborn son and Loki was actually Odin's brother. *shrugs* Gotta love creative license. Anyway, without further ado I give you…**

**EDITED 2/2/2013: I removed the obnoxious two paragraph section regarding Chris and Clint at the end of this chapter. My lovely reviewer, Tsumi, very politely pointed out that it was a bit confusing and after having my husband read it then rereading it myself, I realized that it was absolute garbage. It was very vague and rushed like bad sex. If you've already read chapter 5 just think of the crap at the end as a bad dream with the possibility of future moments of slight déjà vu.  
**

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**Chapter Five: A Father's Honor**

Loki fell into step between his guards as they escorted him to the throne room. He was grateful that they had not insisted that he don the muzzle Thor had placed on him on Midgard. They must have realized that his power had far surpassed the need to speak. They traversed the hallways of the palace in silence and as the doors to the throne room came into view, Loki felt a twinge of trepidation in the pit of his stomach; surely, his daughter would attend, but what of his mother? No, she was Thor's mother he corrected himself. And what of Thor? Would he be subjected to Thor's infernal affections? He would much rather face an eternity as a mortal than endure another of Thor's sentiments.

The doors opened as they approached and closed behind them with an ominous bang. The floor of the throne room seemed to go on forever, but far too soon, he was forced to his knees before the throne. Loki's eyes didn't leave the floor until the booming voice of Odin bid them rise and the guards pulled him to his feet. Before him on the dais, sat Odin, in all his glory, his face an unreadable mask, to his right sat Frigga. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. He felt a tightening in his chest when her eyes caught his and she smiled. For a moment, he longed for her to take him in her arms and kiss his brow as she had when he was a child, but he recovered quickly, catching himself before he smiled back. That didn't stop the pain of regret when her smile faded and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. He lowered his eyes, unable to stand the sight. Standing to her right, Thor witnessed the exchange and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He turned to back to Loki with a hopeful smile, which was pointedly ignored. Instead, the condemned god turned his gaze toward Odin. Pride squared his shoulders and he tilted up his chin in defiance.

The great doors opened and closed behind him and he turned to see his daughter, Hel, striding confidently across the great hall to take her place beside him. She had changed little since he had seen her last. She was darkness and light personified. The left side of her features was pale and dark with alabaster skin and a deep soulful brown eye, the right was light and golden with sun-kissed skin and a clear cerulean eye. She wore her hair long and pulled back into a thick braid of interwoven pale blond and raven black. She was the very essence of balance, and when her eyes met his he saw love and understanding, but he also saw something that terrified him. Hel, the overseer of the dead in Niflheim was afraid.

Loki watched as she knelt before Odin. The Allfather nodded and bid her rise.

"For what reason have you brought us here today, Granddaughter?" Odin asked.

"I fear I have made a terrible mistake, Grandfather." she replied. Loki's fists clenched at their words. Granddaughter, indeed.

"The events on Midgard had far reaching effects, much farther than father realizes: the Chitauri were not working alone. They answered to a higher power. A titan of immeasurable strength," she explained. "In failing to retrieve the Tesseract, Father brought on the ire of the titan, Thanos. His life was in danger."

"Thanos is well known to the Death Gods. We sift through his reaped souls daily. He is obsessed with death and me in particular. He believes that I enjoy his 'gifts' and sends them to me often. He does not understand that I weep for every innocent that passes into my realm." She paused and fought back the tears that threatened.

"To appease him, I struck a bargain," she said quietly.

"What bargain?" Odin asked the edge in his voice was unmistakable. Loki closed his eyes and braced himself for her response.

"My life for his," she replied, "I agreed to marry him." The room erupted in angry shouts and the sobbing cries of Frigga.

"No! Hel, I forbid it!" Loki shouted. He wrenched himself away from his guards and rushed to her side. She turned and caressed his cheek with sorrow-filled eyes.

"It is already done, Father." Loki closed his eyes and forced himself to regain his composure. Hel's touch offered him little comfort. He felt his guards grip his arms once more, but their touch was there for only a moment. He could hear Frigga quietly weeping into Thor's shoulder, and he could feel Odin's gaze boring holes into his flesh but he did not care. His daughter had given herself to a vicious monster for his sake.

"Why? Why would you do this?" He searched her eyes.

"Because I love you," she replied and kissed him on the cheek. "Family may not mean much to some," she threw a glare over Loki's shoulder to Odin, "but it means everything to me." A silent tear slipped down Loki's cheek at her words, and she quickly brushed it away with her knuckles knowing that he would rather die than allow Odin to see it.

"If it is true what you say and the marriage has already occurred, then why are you here, Hel?" Loki's eyes narrowed at the Allfather's voice.

"Because Thanos is gathering another army. He intends to destroy Midgard in my honor and give me their souls. Of course, I do not want this, but he refuses to see reason. He must be stopped," she replied.

"He failed before. He will fail again," the Allfather scoffed.

"Not after he retrieves the infinity gauntlets as is his plan," Hel countered.

"You are sure of this, Granddaughter?" Hel nodded. Panic filled Loki's eyes.

"Allfather you must allow me to help you defeat him. I can fortify the defenses surrounding the gauntlets, and if I must, I will return to Midgard to aid the humans," he said.

Odin considered him for a moment his face a mask of stone. Nothing could be heard but the muffled sounds of Frigga weeping as the scent of fear wafted off the outwardly stoic guards at Loki's side. After what seemed like an eternity, Odin broke the silence.

"How can we possibly trust you, my son?"

"I am not now, nor have I ever been your son," Loki hissed, "but Hel is my daughter. Surely, even with your warped sense of fatherly honor you must understand my need to free her of this creature." Odin's eyes filled with rage.

"Enough! I will have no more of this nonsense! You are my son despite what you choose to believe," the fury in Odin's eyes melted into sadness. "I will grant your request, Loki, but Thor is to remain at your side at all times and once the defenses surrounding the gauntlets you will return to Midgard and aid not only in their fight against Thanos, but also in the recovery from the destruction you caused." Loki sputtered a protest but was silenced by Odin's raised hand.

"If you are successful, your sentence will be lifted, and you will be free to return to our side," the Allfather said and held Loki's gaze. "I too need to free my child of his demons."

Odin gestured for the guards to remove Loki's restraints. Loki's eyes widened in shock, then reveled in the feeling of his magic swelling within him once again. He turned to Hel and pulled her into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head then pulled back.

"I will save you from this, little one. This I swear," he vowed. She smiled at him and he could see a spark of hope in her eyes.

"I am afraid I must go, Father. Thanos believes that I am banished from Asgard and does not know that I am able to travel here freely. I must not let him suspect that I have been here or he will likely use it to get to the gauntlets." Loki's grip tightened on her upper arms for a moment then reluctantly released her. She bowed to her King then showed herself out.

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**A/N**

**Wow 62 followers! I'd like to give a special thanks to all who have favorited and/or followed this story. It's really helped me to keep my focus especially after the accident.**

**I'm really looking to improve my writing, so please R&R. It's a little rough because I have no beta, so if you're interested, please PM me.**


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